Nicolas-Henry Jeaurat de Bertry

Anonymous sale ("Property of a Gentleman"), London, Sotheby's, 8 July 1999, lot 219;
There acquired by the present collector for $53,738. 

The canvas has an old, stable lining. The paint surface is in good overall condition, although with some localized areas of more pronounced craquelure. There is a repaired diagonal tear to the right of the globe, and another smaller one above the globe to the left. Inspection under ultra-violet light is made difficult by the reflective varnish layer, but it does see reveal some infilling of the aforementioned craquelure. Offered with a carved and giltwood frame, with a few losses here and there.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Jeaurat de Bertry was born in Paris in the generation following Jean-Baptiste Chardin and the influence of that master on his work is unmistakable, especially in the younger artist's tables de cuisine or kitchen still lifes.  This painting is a particularly fine and large scale example of that genre.  A pupil of his uncle Etienne Jeaurat, who was a professor at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, Jeaurat de Bertry, somewhat unusually, was both nominated and accepted into the Académie on the same day, 31 January 1756. Only five years later, in 1761, he was named peintre de la Reine to Queen Marie Leczinska, consort of Louis XV, and set up residence in Versailles where he remained until her death in 1768.  In his later career, Jeaurat de Bertry turned to portraiture and landscape painting, but it is for his considerable skill as a still life painter that he is best known today.